Ahead of the Curve

The lending environment is undergoing a worrying change. Funds that European direct lenders have raised but not yet deployed are at an all-time high and banks in most Western-European jurisdictions have renewed lending following years of reticence after the global financial crisis, leading to increased competition amongst lenders in the small and medium enterprise (SME) market.

Railways Pension Scheme (Railpen) – The multi-employer scheme for the UK’s railways industry has named Leo George as head of sustainable ownership, replacing Deborah Gilshan who will leave to join Standard Life at the end of March. George joined the pension scheme in 2009, and has overseen asset allocation for pooled funds, thematic investment research, and investment strategy. In his new role he will be responsible for “integrating sustainable ownership considerations” for public and private market investments, Railpen said. Railpen also plans to hire an additional “senior governance professional” to its sustainable ownership team.

Standard Life/Aberdeen – The two asset managers, who announced a merger on 6 March, have moved to clarify how their respective chief executives will co-operate when they begin sharing the role post-merger. It followed questions raised in the media coverage of the deal about whether Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen, and Keith Skeoch, CEO of Standard Life, can successfully work together as co-CEOs.

According to a statement released by the companies, Skeoch will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the combined business, including its investment, pensions, and savings businesses. He will also oversee insurance joint ventures in India and China, as well as operations, finance, human resources, “risk and regulatory culture”, legal, and secretariat functions.

Gilbert’s responsibilities will include “international activities, distribution including client engagement and business development, marketing, and corporate development”, the companies’ statement said. The pair will share responsibilities as members of the executive committee, developing strategy and objectives, and monitoring performance.

Franklin Templeton – Mark Mobius, veteran emerging markets investor and executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, is to step down as named manager on 12 of the US-based asset manager’s suite of funds in the next two months. The group said the move was part of the “ongoing evolution” of the company. Most of the fund managers taking on official responsibilities have been the lead decision makers on the funds for some time.

Caisse des Dépots et Consignations (CDC) – The pension division of the French state-owned investment group has made two new hires. Anne-Laure Genty will be joining as senior specialist for sustainability, leaving a role in the French environment ministry. François Tirmarche, meanwhile, will join as deputy to Caroline Le Meaux, head of delegated management at CDC. Tirmarche is currently fixed income director at Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR), the French pension reserve fund.

LD/Foreningen NLP – Lars Wallberg, finance director at Denmark’s LD pension fund, has been hired by Foreningen NLP (NLP Association) – a fund which owns 25% of Nordea Life & Pension – as its new chief executive. Wallberg will take up the post on 1 June. He has been in his current job at LD since 2011, and was previously CFO at LD and finance director at Sampension. Wallberg will be responsible for managing the association’s assets of more than DKK8bn (€1bn) for its members and charitable activities, as well as building up the association’s secretariat.

Westerbrink – Pensions lawyer Hans van Meerten is to join pensions consultancy Westerbrink as partner in April. At Westerbrink, Van Meerten is to focus on national and international individual defined contribution. At year-end, Van Meerten left law firm Clifford Chance, where he had worked since 2011. Van Meerten said that he would also keep on being active for law firm Coupry, and that he will also stay on as professor for international pension law at Utrecht University.

Folksam Liv – Lars Ericsson, chief executive of the Stockholm Consumer Cooperative Society (Konsumentföreningen Stockholms), has been proposed as the new chairman of the board of Folksam Liv. Nominations will be voted on at the company’s AGM on 20 April.

Association for Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) – Leanne Clements has been appointed “Red Line Voting” campaign manager, effective from April. Clements was previously the responsible investment manager at the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). She resigned from her role at the PPF last autumn. Clements will support the adoption and implementation of the Red Line Voting policies, a set of voting instructions covering a range of environmental, social and governance issues.

SFAMA – The Swiss asset management association has a new board member: André Bantli, managing director, head of retail-wholesale business for Switzerland, the Middle East and Africa at BlackRock in Switzerland. Bantli is also a member of BlackRock Switzerland’s executive committee.

Northern Trust – The service provider has made a number of changes to senior roles in its institutional business. Penelope Biggs is now chief strategy officer for corporate and institutional services, alongside leading the group’s global marketing. Toby Glaysher has been named head of global fund services international, and Clive Bellows takes the same role for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Jon Dunham is now head of global sales, having previously led the sales team in the Americas, and Robert Frazer has transferred from leading Northern Trust’s UK pensions business to country head for the Middle East.

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) – Andrew Douglas has joined as an associate director to the asset manager’s UK institutional sales team, focusing on insurance clients. He joins from BMO Global Asset Management where he was a senior sales associate.

Financial Reporting Council (FRC) – Paul Cox, an adviser to the National Employment Savings Trust, has joined the auditing watchdog’s audit and assurance council, along with Olivier Beroud, a consultant and former head of Moody’s in Europe.

La Francaise – Kay Scherf has been hired to lead the asset manager’s sales team in Germany. He previously worked for AXA Investment Managers for 10 years, latterly as director of wholesale. Prior to AXA IM, he was a trader and portfolio manager at JP Morgan Asset Management. At La Francaise, Scherf will help expand on what the company sees as “considerable growth opportunities” in the German market, particularly for fixed income.

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – Nick Stace has been appointed non-executive director to the board of the UK regulator for a three-year term from 1 April. He is currently chief executive of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, but has held senior roles at several consumer groups, including Which? in the UK and Choice in Australia.

AGH – Pensions provider Administratie Groep Holland has appointed Peter Krul in the newly created position of director for operational affairs. He will become responsible for ICT as well as investments and integral risk management. Krul joined from the €18bn provider and asset manager SPF Beheer, where his roles included head of automation, operational director, and ICT director during 10 years at the company. AGH has extended its business after taking on the industry-wide schemes for butchers (Slagersbedrijf) and millers (Molenaars) as new clients.

Aon Hewitt – The consultancy firm has named Marlon Sahetapy as principal consultant in a new position at its global retirement and investment practice. He will be tasked with extending the company’s position in the fiduciary market in the Netherlands. Sahetapy has been an independent consultant for the past four years, serving asset managers and pension funds on business and product development, focusing on non-listed investments.